One person just reached his 1,000th cruise with Royal Caribbean, something that seems impossible to most travelers.
Mario Salcedo is sailing on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas this week and it's an important milestone for the cruise line's biggest fan.
Known by the moniker, "Super Mario", Mr. Salcedo celebrated 1,000 cruises total, and all with Royal Caribbean.
Salcedo hit the 1000 cruise milestone while aboard the 3,286 passenger Explorer of the Seas. The ship departed Miami on January 5 on an 11-night voyage to Panama and the Southern Caribbean.
Super Mario began cruising with an 8-night Western Caribbean cruise on Majesty of the Seas on December 31, 1994. Majesty is no longer in the fleet and has been destroyed, that's how old long he's been cruising.
It's an incredible milestone, but he's been setting and breaking his own records for the most everything with Royal Caribbean for quite a while.
A special event was held on the ship's Royal Promenade to celebrate the occasion with Super Mario himself, along with the ship's senior staff.
"Join us in celebrating the extraordinary milestone of Super Mario completing his 1000th sailing with Royal Caribbean," the announcement said in the ship's daily newspaper.
"He has become a beloved member of our cruising family and Pinnacle Club member in our Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program. He has completed the most cruises on Liberty of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, and this sailing marks his 54th cruise on Explorer of the Seas."
As you probably guessed, he reached and maxed out Royal Caribbean's upper most loyalty level a long time ago.
Pinnacle Club is when you get to 700 points, which would take you 100 seven-night cruises to reach if you stayed in a cabin less than a suite and never sailed alone.
Pinnacles get free internet packages for duration of every sailing, lapel pins, priority embarkation with the suite guests, and daily breakfast at a specialty restaurant.
After every 350 points earned, Pinnacle Club members get a free cruise certificate good for a Junior Suite cabin.
A cruising legend
If you cruise long enough with Royal Caribbean, you'll probably hear someone talk about Super Mario because of how incredible his achievements are within the line.
He practically lives on cruise ships year-round. Most years, he only spends a few days on land. The rest of the year he's on a ship.
According to Royal Caribbean, he spends about 50 weeks a year on the line's ships.
The only time in the past 20 years he hasn't cruised most of the year was during the cruise industry shutdown of 2020-2021.
In 2022, he hit the 10,000 point milestone with the line's customer loyalty program.
To put this in perspective, Crown & Anchor Society members earn one point for each night spent on a Royal Caribbean cruise, with an extra point per night awarded for staying in a suite or cruising solo in a double-occupancy cabin.
It took Super Mario 870 cruises to reach that number. But since August 2022, he's taken another 130 cruises in just 29 months.
His favorite itineraries are to the Caribbean, and his favorite stop is the cruise line's private destination in Labadee, Haiti.
How Mario became Super Mario
Mr. Salcedo became Royal Caribbean's top cruiser years ago, but he only got started in 2000.
His family moved from Cuba to Miami in the early 1960s to start a new life in pursuit of freedom and opportunity.
"We are eternally grateful to this country for having welcomed us with open arms," he said about moving to the United States.
He began cruising 20 years ago back when he was 47-years-old and doesn’t seem to have any regrets.
Read more: Life at sea - An interview with Royal Caribbean's top cruiser, Super Mario
In 1997, Mr. Salcedo opened a small business managing investments for clients in 1997. That same year he took his first cruise and fell in love with the experience and began sampling different lines, regions, and itineraries.
Since then, cruising has become a way of life.
Since his first Royal Caribbean cruise in 2000, Mario has sailed exclusively on Royal Caribbean International ships around the world -- that’s 25 years and counting!
In an interview with All Things Cruise in 2021, he said: "I’m so used to being on ships that it feels more comfortable to me than being on land."
"For 23 years. Always on Royal Caribbean...Cruising never gets old."
He said in 2019 he paid about $72,093 a year if he stayed in an inside cabin.
That number went up to $101,258 for a cabin with a balcony.
Super Mario told told Condé Nast Traveler: "I’ve lost my land legs, so when I’m swaying so much I can’t walk in a straight line. I’m so used to being on ships that it feels more comfortable to me than being on land."
How long will we cruise? As long as he can.
"With so many friends and memories made out at sea over the years, I plan to continue cruising indefinitely so long as I’m in good health and having fun."
Mario's favorite cruise memory
Mr. Salcedo shared recently the answer to what is his most memorable cruise memory.
“Without a doubt, the ‘hurricane evacuation’ cruise onboard Enchantment of the Seas in September 2017.
Hurricane Irma was headed towards South Florida packing maximum winds of 150 mph. Evacuation orders were issued, but there were no flights, car rentals, or hotel rooms. Bottled water and essential items ran out quickly and even gasoline was scarce. Miami’s residents were essentially trapped.
A famous CEO came up with the brilliant idea to offer Enchantment of the Seas to the Miami-based shoreside employees and their immediate families as a means of quick, safe, and free evacuation.
I believe the ship carried nearly 3,000 employees and families as she sailed out of Miami and out of harm's way for a 4-day cruise to nowhere. I may have been the only real guest onboard.
That sailing gave me the unique opportunity to meet, chat, and socialize with many shoreside employees. It was a new and truly unforgettable experience.
I love the onboard crew, but this unplanned encounter with the shoreside employee population was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.”
